Why Didn't Anyone Tell Me This?

Lucy van de Wiel was a Research Associate in the Reproductive Sociology Research Group (ReproSoc) at the Department of Sociology, University of Cambridge. She is currently a Lecturer and Postgraduate Research Director in Global Health and Social Medicine at King’s College London. She has founded and is chair of the Reproduction Research Group at King’s. Her research focuses on the introduction of new reproductive technologies such as egg freezing, time-lapse embryo imaging and Preimplantation Genetic Testing for Aneuploidy (PGT-A). 

Lucy explores how these technologies give insight into broader developments within the sector, including the datafication of reproduction and the financialisation of fertility. She also researches telemedical abortion in the post-Roe landscape. She has published an Open Access booked on egg freezing with New York University Press titled Freezing Fertility: Oocyte Cryopreservation and the Gender Politics of Aging. Freezing Fertility has inspired a feature documentary, also called Freezing Fertility. 

In this episode, Lucy explains all aspects of egg freezing. She discusses what happens when a woman undergoes the procedure, how successful it is, and how much it costs. It is not a simple procedure to go through, it is not that successful with no guarantee of a baby and it is expensive, with multiple rounds usually being recommended. So why would any woman want to freeze her eggs? Joyce and Lucy answer this question and discuss the interesting fact that few women have come back to use their frozen eggs. And what does the future hold – is this a procedure that will become common place or are other technologies being developed that will replace egg freezing? 

 Date of episode recording: 2024-07-29T00:00:00Z
 Duration: 01.18.05
 Language of episode: English
 Presenter: Joyce Harper 
 Guests: Dr Lucy van de Wiel
 Producer: Joyce Harper 

What is Why Didn't Anyone Tell Me This? ?

Welcome to season 2 of the podcast - Why didn’t anyone tell me this? This podcast is about health education with an emphasis on reproductive health. We do not cover these topics enough in school or beyond. Joyce Harper and her guests want to give you the tools to empower you to live a healthy, happy and fulfilled life. And on the way, we will debunk some of the myths around our health. This podcast will include a wide range of amazing guests, discussing topics such as nutrition, exercise, sleep, mental health, happiness, cancer, periods, fertility, infertility, fertility treatment, preconception health, pregnancy, miscarriage, PCOS, endometriosis, menopause and much more. Joyce is a cold-water swimmer so expect some episodes about swimming! They will tell you about their work and life journey, what are the key messages they want you to know, their motivation, what makes them happy and their advice to their younger self. Joyce Harper is an award-winning author, educator, academic, and scientist with over 30 years’ experience in reproductive health. She is Professor of Reproductive Science at the Institute for Women’s Health at University College London where she heads the Reproductive Science and Society group. Her latest book, Your Fertile Years, is published by Sheldon Press, 2021. She is chair of the International Reproductive Health Education Collaboration (www.eshre.eu/IRHEC) and co-chair of the UK Fertility Education Initiative. She is founder of Reproductive Health at Work. Further information at www.joyceharper.com.